I Feel It Winding Down

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  Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Peter: Well, I'm gettin' something really special too. And by special I don't mean special like that Kleinaman boy down the street. More special like... like Special K, the cereal. Hey, what do they do with the regular K? And for that matter, what ever happend to K. Ballard?  You know, if you said mallard and you had a cold, it would sound like ballard.

Brian: Do you listen to yourself when you talk?

Peter: I drift in and out.

 - from the Family Guy



Recently, I've had a lot of time to think about travel and other things while driving or riding on buses.  I'm not quite as unfocused as Peter, but I have been thinking a lot of random things lately.  But before I get into that, I'll do a quick update on what I've been doing. 



I arrived in Darwin about ten days ago, and it felt like a mini-Miami.  There were palm trees everywhere, and the government buildings had a clean white architectural style that seems like it'd be found in Miami.  Darwin was actually bombed by the Japanese shortly after Pearl Harbor, and later was devastated by Cyclone Tracy in 1974.  Anyway, I'd been eager to try some exotic Australian food at that point, and Darwin was the perfect place to try.  Based on a recommendation by a friend, I went to a restaurant called the Magic Wok, where you can pick your veggies, meats, and sauces from a raw food bar.  Then you give the whole thing to a chef who grills it up in a wok (I think this is called a Mongolian grill back at home).  Over the course of two meals there, I was able to try kangaroo, crocodile, and camel meat.  I also ate a crocodile burger here.  I visited the city sights and met another traveler here on the way to a museum who is actually from the Philly area (a first for me on this trip). 



After a few days, I flew to Cairns on the east coast.  When I arrived, I couldn't believe that the land was so... green.  I'd spent the past month traveling up the west coast and the landscape was mostly desert, so when I arrived I was pleasantly surprised to find such a lush environment.  I received an email a few days prior to my flight advertising a really great campervan deal so I took it.  A campervan is basically a van that's been outfitted like a mini-RV, and I had six days to get it to Brisbane (which is about 1,000 miles away).  I went through the Tablelands region near Cairns and drove through some incredible green countryside.  Along the way to Brisbane, I also stopped at some famous beaches, Airlie Beach, and Noosa.



Airlie Beach is the gateway to the famed Whitsunday Islands, and I joined a one-day tour of the islands on a sailing catamaran.  I've never been on a large sailing vessel, and the experience was pretty awesome.  I talked to the skipper for a while, and he convinced me to join a sailing crew in the future.  I haven't decided yet where I want to sail, but I think I'd jump at any good opportunity.  I also stopped in Noosa, an upscale beach town, and did some dayhikes in the nearby national park. 



I realized on this road trip that a campervan/RV is really a great way to travel, particularly for couples.  I had the freedom to go wherever I wanted to, without being tied to a bus route or a tour.  I could also go at my own pace, since I had my own kitchen and bed, and stop wherever I wanted to eat and sleep.  I think I'd like to spend my retirement touring the continent by campervan, assuming that fuel prices don't go through the roof (as if they haven't already). 



And now, a series of random thoughts, mulled over and developed on buses and behind the wheel...



How Great Was Costa Rica?

I received an email recently from the WorldTeach volunteer who will be in my old town, San Luis, to teach English this summer, and I realized how great that experience was.  I think it was a really good mix of living in a different culture and backpacking around the country.  It's been hard to get off the backpacker trail here, especially when traveling by bus, and I've been thinking that I haven't gotten enough local exposure and cultural immersion on this trip.  Although it's too late to get the local experience in NZ, I've decided to spend the next week doing a farmstay in order to get at least a taste of Australian life.  I will also attempt to get the cultural immersion experience at my next stop on this trip. 



The Korean-American Man's (and Woman's?) Guide to Traveling in Oz

Intro: There are many people from Korea traveling and working temporarily in Australia.  With the right amount of finesse and charm, you can eat good Korean food for free or a very low cost.  Here's how.

Step 1: At the hostel, identify the Korean people.  These will most likely be the people who are speaking Korean either to each other or on the phone.  If you don't understand this concept, it's probably not worth it for you to read on. 

Step 2: Introduce yourself in Korean.  There are a handful of things I somehow still remember from my high school psychology class.  One of those things is the term cognitive dissonance, which describes conflicting thoughts or beliefs that occur at the same time.  In simple terms, people will block out information that conflicts with what one already believes, in an effort to ignore that information and reinforce one's beliefs.  The reason this term applies to this guide is that some Asian people will look at you in disbelief when you speak fluent and native English, and they may ignore you, become temporarily speechless, or turn their heads a full 180 degrees and look behind them for 5-7 seconds to see if you're talking to someone else (I've experienced each of these situations).  So basically, introduce yourself in Korean. 

Step 3: Work into the conversation the fact that you're from America.  They will be intrigued and very interested because you are some sort of dual-cultured, Korean-but-not-really-Korean guy. 

Step 4: Work into the conversation how much you love Korean food, and how expensive it is to eat Korean food in Australia.  It may help to name some of your favorite Korean dishes. 

Step 5: If you've been nice enough and if the people you're talking to are nice (which they generally are if you've gotten to step 4), they will most likely invite you to join them for dinner.  You will be able to join them for free, by splitting the grocery bill, or by buying them some beer.

Step 6: Enjoy!  You've succeeded in eating a homemade Korean meal.  To increase your chances of joining them for additional meals, offer to help cook and clean up.



I've personally experienced four great meals using this method. 



What Did you Do For a Living?  Really?

One of the things I absolutely love about traveling in general is the fact that you are judged by your character much more than anything else (this sounds oddly similar to the dreams of Martin Luther King).  At home, I feel like people are usually identified by their occupation, and being an accountant doesn't always conjure up thoughts of excitement and adventure.  Back in college, one of my roommates used to make fun of me by quoting a TV personality who said that accountants "wear blue suits and drive their automatic transmission cars to work."  From my experience working as an accountant, I know that not all accountants are "the stereotypical accountant," but many outside the field don't think that.  And two years ago, if I had told someone I was an accountant they'd usually say something like, "I can see that."  I hated that, so so much.  But now people ask what I used to do back at home and when I tell them, they respond with "Really?  That's surprising."  It's a great feeling. 



Am I turning into a woman?

The reason I pose this question is that I've been using very different parts of my brain to travel independently.  It's all about instincts, impulses, and feelings... these things were not overly developed at the beginning of the trip, but I think they've been honed because I rely on them all the time now.  Quite frankly, before the trip I was almost completely logic-oriented, but on the road the way you feel is the single most important thing, and it dominates your judgment.  The way I feel when I walk into a hostel and observe my surroundings, when I meet someone for the first time, or when walking down a street at night are the things that (I think) keep me happy and out of trouble.  When I go back home I think I'll have a more even balance between logic and feeling. 

Also, an interesting thing I've noticed is how strong certain impulses are now.  I think it may be due to the fact that I don't have many of the comforts of home, but when I want something, I really want something.  Sometimes I'll walk around for over an hour looking for the meal or the drink that I'm craving, and I've never felt so compelled to have what I want.  The ironic thing is that I have no income but I'll still buy the little things that I feel I need, whereas at home I had a regular income but wouldn't spend on those little things. 

Based on certain marketing classes I had in school (and the fact that the bus driver played the movie What Women Want during one of my recent bus rides), it seems that women are driven by their feelings and emotions, which is why I chose the title I did for this story.  But rest assured, folks, that despite this shift in my thought processes I feel "more man" than ever before.



I have less than three weeks before I set foot back in the States, and I'm both eager and reluctant to return.  I'm eager to see and talk to people who I've had a relationship with for more than a few hours, eat at my favorite Thai restaurant (which to this day still holds the title for my #1 Thai place even after trying a bunch of places on this trip), and sleep in a non-dorm room, among other things.  I'm reluctant to give up life on the road (with its associated ups, downs, adventures, and surprises) and to have to think about practical life considerations like analyzing my finances and working, among other things.  After my farmstay, a visit to the late Steve Irwin's zoo, and a short stop in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, I'm off the continent to one final destination (sigh). 

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